MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF ...

MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE
BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE
RUTGERS UNIVERSITY ALUMNI ASSOCIATION
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Multipurpose Room, Camden Campus Center
PRESENT: Cara Bufanio, MGSA ’85 (via telephone); Carlos Dequina, NCAS ’89 (via
telephone), Nikita Desai, DC ’01 (via telephone); Maurice Griffin, NLAW '94; Frank Hundley,
RC '86; GSC ’01; Charles Ivory, CCAS ’69; Ken Johnson, ENG '66; Harold Kaplan, RC ’57;
George Rears, RC '89 RBSG ’95; James Rhodes, CCAS ’94; Katty Rivera, LC’04, GSE’09;
Donna K. Thornton, Vice President for Alumni Relations; Christine Tiritilli, DC '92; Brian
Wennersten, CC’02; Michael Williamson, RBSG '01
ALSO PRESENT: Abby Acelin, Intern, Alumni Relations, Camden; Jennifer Boscia-Smith,
Director, Alumni Communications; Diana Byrd, Secretarial Assistant, Alumni Relations,
Camden; Yvette Choma, Director, Volunteer Development; Lisa English, Director, Alumni
Relations, Newark; Larry Gaines, Vice Chancellor, Administration & Finance; Jason Goldstein
LC '02; Matthew Manfra, Director of Outreach Programs; Chuck Mannella, Director, Alumni
Relations, Camden; Brian Perillo, Assistant Vice President of Alumni Relations; Mike
Rutkowski, Assistant Director, Director of Reunions
EXCUSED: Timothy Farrow, CLAW ’98; Anthony Marchetta, RC ’71; RBS '95; Ian Leonard,
CCAS ’00; Tamara Remedios, RC '97, RBS '97; Jennifer Sneed; Kate Sweeney, CC '79; Gloria
Wormley, UCNB ’04
CALL TO ORDER:
The meeting was called to order at 6:24 pm by James Rhodes, Chair, who welcomed everyone to
the meeting. He introduced Larry Gaines, Vice Chancellor, Administration & Finance for the
Camden Campus.
Mr. Gaines discussed enrollment and growth on the Camden campus. There has been a 13%
increase in enrollment; the University hopes to grow to a 7,500-student population. In order to
accommodate these students, the University is planning a new dormitory project as well as a new
academic building project located on Cooper Street.
MINUTES:
The minutes of the September 16, 2010 meeting of the Board were circulated in advance of the
meeting. Mr. Griffin made a request for corrections or additions to the minutes. The minutes
were unanimously approved upon a motion (Charles Ivory) duly seconded (Harold Kaplan).
CHAIR'S REPORT:
Mr. Rhodes began his report with a reminder that the new agenda structure will no longer have
verbal committee reports unless a committee must address the Board about something, at which
point the topic will be placed under the Presentations section of the agenda.

Mr. Rhodes noted that the fall has been a very busy time. He began with a comment about the
recent tragic death of first-year student Tyler Clementi and the RUAA’s commitment to diversity
and acceptance. Mr. Rhodes next discussed the University’s $1 billion campaign, Our Rutgers,
Our Future. The University is $472 million toward reaching the goal. Mr. Rhodes thanked the
Board for its commitment to the campaign and noted the success of the gala evening at NJPAC.
He then talked about the Rutgers Football player Eric LeGrand, noting that he sent Eric and his
family a letter on behalf of the RUAA reassuring Eric that the Rutgers community supports him.
Finally, Mr. Rhodes commented on the successes of the Homecoming weekends on the Camden,
Newark, and New Brunswick campuses. The University has been providing more diverse
programming and is seeing a significant, continual growth in attendance and participation.
Mr. Rhodes noted that the Executive Committee has been meeting with charter groups,
especially the chartered alumni associations, discussing the RUAA, their roles in the RUAA, and
the RUAA strategic plan.
Mr. Rhodes drew attention to Alumni Leaders conference. Though the agenda addresses this
conference later in the meeting, he thanked Yvette Choma and Maurice Griffin for their
leadership and vision during the conference.
Mr. Rhodes concluded his report with a brief discussion of the Decades Dinner of the Cap and
Skull, which he and Christine Tiritilli attended. He was impressed with the organization’s
service to the University and its support of Rutgers.
VICE PRESIDENT'S REPORT:
Handouts at the Table:
Donna Thornton addressed the materials distributed to each Board member. She noted that those
on the phone should still receive the thumb drive given to each member at the dinner. Further,
the Rutgers calendar, which is for sale for $8, was sent to ALC members and all alum who have
paid lifetime membership dues. Ms. Thornton commented that each person at the gala received a
case statement and pride book. Brian Perillo and Jennifer Boscia-Smith discussed the pictures in
this year’s calendar.
Reunion:
Ms. Thornton noted that Mike Rutkowski and Mike Babbler are managing the upcoming
Reunion event, which will be held under a tent at the Voorhees mall. Ms. Thornton discussed a
new way of celebrating Reunion: rather than segmenting according to class and campus, it will
be an inclusive dinner involving the classes of 1966 through 2006 from all three campuses. This
consolidation of events will allow for enhanced collaboration between the schools and classes, as
well as for better maximization of resources. This method of hosting this event will save money
and allow for an elaborate entertainment experience.
Run for RAH:
Ms. Thornton discussed the success of the recent Run for RAH. There was an increase in
participation, a 44% increase in cash raised, and an accumulation of 850 pounds of canned and
boxed food. This event has become so successful that a subcommittee of the Homecoming

committee has been formed to deal solely with the Run each year. Ms. Thornton noted that
Chuck Mannella and Lisa English are adding service fundraising components to this event.
Process for Investigating into Complaints:
Ms. Thornton discussed a complaint that was recently filed against one of the RUAA’s charter
groups. Because this was the first complaint of this sort, the RUAA lacks a procedure for
investigating complaints and therefore sent the issue to the Alumni Leaders Chair for review by
the University’s Office of General Counsel. Ms. Thornton commented that the RUAA must
adopt, along with the Alumni Leaders Counsel (ALC), a process for reviewing complaints. In
this case, however, process development is a lesser priority than actually reviewing the
complaint. Therefore, the ALC made a subcommittee to review the facts of the complaint, and
will then make a recommendation to the ALC Committee. The ALC Committee will send a
letter to the complainer and complainee discussing the outcome of the review. Ms. Thornton
notes that if the Board eventually learns about this issue, then that means the issue will have been
resolved. She also notes that she will not discuss the details of the complaint because, should
this issue not be resolved, the Board may hear the appeal and therefore cannot be previously
informed of the details. This issue raised questions with several Board members. Harold Kaplan
inquired about the amount of investigation or guidance the charter associations receive in
general; Maurice Griffin responded that the Board does not delve into the matters of the
organizations. Frank Hundley commented that with 101 chartered organizations, the Board’s
exposure to risk continually increases: each group representing Rutgers and the RUAA, without
being overseen by the Board, puts the Board at risk because it is unaware of the actions of these
chartered organizations. Ms. Thornton suggested that a procedure for reviewing complaints
should be recommended in March. Ms. Thornton concluded her report with a suggestion to Mr.
Rhodes, the Board’s Risk Manager, to give a presentation at the March 2011 meeting discussing
risk.
PRESENTATIONS:
Report of Sub-Committee on Board Standards:
Mr. Rhodes introduced Cara Bufanio to discuss one of the goals adopted by the Board in
September to create a Board member minimum set of standards. Ms. Bufanio chaired a
subcommittee consisting of Carlos Dequina, Maurice Griffin, and Brian Perillo. After reviewing
the requirements and responsibilities of Board members, the subcommittee created a Job
Description detailing the expectations of Board members, such as attendance, donation, and
participation. The format of the Job Description includes a summary of the RUAA mission, the
terms of office, job requisites, and responsibilities such as expectations and practices. Ms.
Bufanio also discussed the creation of the Acknowledgment of Roles and Responsibilities
description, which enforces the Job Description. For example, the Board will issue penalties to
members who miss too many meetings. George Rears, Frank Hundley, and Charles Ivory all
commented on the efficiency and quality of the Job Description and the Acknowledgement of
Roles and Responsibilities. Additionally, Mr. Ivory presented an issue that arose during one of
his recent meeting regarding the Board members holding multiple Board seats. Mr. Ivory
recommended that Board members should not be able to hold multiple seats on multiple Boards
in order to allow other alumni opportunities to become involved with the Board. Ms. Thornton
questioned if this issue is addressed in the Job Description and Roles and Responsibilities
Acknowledgement. Ms. Bufanio responded that it is not, and suggested the development of a

code of ethics to avoid conflict of interest between different Boards. She noted that no other
universities prohibit this type of multiplicity. Ms. Thornton commented that in some cases an
overlap of Board positions is necessary. Jason Goldstein questioned the process for nominating
new Board members, clarified by Brian Perillo. Mr. Kaplan commented that this issue seems
irrelevant because all Boards, and therefore all Board members, have a common interest in the
betterment of the University. Ms. Bufanio suggested the creation of a code of conduct and
confidentiality policy for those serving on multiple Boards. Mr. Ivory disagreed, finding that the
issue is not conflict of interest, rather the nomination process. Brian Wennersten interjected a
side issue, asking who to contact to report needing to be absent from a meeting. Ms. Thornton
replied that Amanda is the contact person for absences. Mr. Rhodes suggested making a
recommendation that these two issues be discussed at a later date.
Alumni Leaders Conference Debrief:
Maurice Griffin discussed the Rutgers 2010 Alumni Leaders Conference Evaluation Results. He
continued this discussion by reviewing the events of the conference. George Rears asked if the
feedback from the conference was constructive, to which Yvette Choma responded affirmatively.
Katty Rivera interjected praise of the events, as well. Mr. Rhodes addressed the issue of the gap
in the events on Friday afternoon, which facilitated a discussion about how to best plan the
events in the future. Mr. Rears suggested that there be more breaks between the Friday morning
events to allow for more networking opportunities, and that the morning events should then
extend past lunchtime on Friday afternoon, resolving the gap. Christine Tiritilli concluded these
comments by encouraging communication between Board members.
REAL Awards Debrief:
Mr. Rhodes asked that, in the absence of Timothy Farrow, Brian Perillo lead the discussion of
the REAL Awards. Mr. Perillo presented the Board with statistics from the survey completed by
participants after the REAL Awards concluded. Matthew Manfra reported on this statistics
handout. He firstly thanked all the attendees and noted that feedback from the participants was
good. There was an increase in attendance from prior years. The event received high ratings and
was close to excellent. Mr. Manfra noted that there were no parking issues. Mr. Manfra
concluded this debrief by drawing attention to the survey responses, noting that 70% of attendees
responded that they would attend this event again, and none of the attendees responded that they
would not return to this event again.
Strategic Plan – Committee Chairs Training:
Vice Chair Christine Tiritilli opened the training session by describing the importance of the
Operations Plans. She stressed that the Board will not do what it has done in the past: create a
Strategic Plan and leave it sitting on the shelf. Rather, the Board will indeed transition from
creating a Strategic Plan to working the Operational Plans. The Operational Plan will greatly
enhance communication between the Committees and the Board. Ms. Tiritilli introduced Ken
Johnson and Lisa English to present the Operational Plans and lead the training session.
Mr. Johnson began the training session by describing the Operational Plans. All RUAA
Committees have Operational Plans, though the Committees may not have seen them yet. The
goals of the training session tonight are to go through one of these plans as well as to implement
common language that creates consistency and connectivity between the Strategic Plan and the

Operational Plans, essentially connecting what we do to what we know. The Strategic Plan will
enhance the clarity of discussions with the Board, minimize variability, and enhance
collaboration between Committees by providing a basis for continuity. Mr. Johnson noted that
he and Lisa English are the facilitators of this plan and can assist in using it.
Ms. English continued the training by introducing an example of an Operational Plan, based
around one of the Board’s Committees. She emphasized that the Operational Plans will be
documents that will belong to the Committees. As owners and managers of the Plans,
Committees will be responsible for them. Further, Ms. English described that she will show the
interactive version of the Strategic Plan that is available on the Director’s Desk and will be
updated by Committee Chairs.
Mr. Johnson and Ms. English proceeded to walk-thru an Example Plan, showing the Board the
different parts of the Plan. George Rears, Chair of the Student Engagement Committee, then
presented the Operational Plans for his Committee, offering the Board a real-world example of
the Plans in action.
Ms. English reminded the Board not to over-think the Plan. Although it seems regimented, it
only looks overwhelming. She encourages the Board to try it for a while and make
modifications if necessary. Mr. Johnson stated that the Board is agreeing on this Operational
Plans format for the RUAA. He instructed Committee Chairs to complete the templates and then
use them to communicate with the RUAA Board and Vice Chair.
Jason Goldstein presented a question regarding how to read the chart when two Committees are
on one tactic. Mr. Johnson clarified that the first Committee has ownership and the second
Committee is for support. This portion of the evening concluded with Mr. Rhodes’ comment
about the effectiveness of this tool for Committee Chairs to keep topics on point.
Strategic Plan – Metrics Brainstorm:
Lisa English and Ken Johnson explained that metrics help measure the Board’s performance as
an organization. They answer the question “Are we engaging alumni”
Mr. Johnson and Ms. English led a brainstorming exercise to find new ways to increase alumni
engagement and interaction. Board members listed suggestions under several different
categories, including Celebration, Creating a Lasting Bond, Organizations and Support,
Participation, Creating Value, and Communication.
Ms. English concluded the exercise with an explanation of her and Mr. Johnson’s plans to take
the Board’s suggestions and create a reporting tool to share with those invested in increasing
alumni engagement.
CONSENT AGENDA:
The consent agenda for the September 16, 2010 meeting of the Board were circulated in advance
of the meeting. Mr. Rhodes asked if there are any reports to be removed or added to the consent
agenda. The October 19, 2010 Alumni Leaders Committee report, the November 3, 2010
Alumni Leaders Committee report, and the October 26, 2010 Student Engagement report were

added to the consent agenda. The consent agenda was unanimously accepted upon a motion
(George Rears) duly seconded (Maurice Griffin).
ACTION ITEMS:
Sub Committee on Board Standards – Resolution to Adopt Board Standards and Board Job
Description:
The resolution to adopt Board Standards and Board Job Description was unanimously accepted
upon a motion by Cara Bufanio, seconded by Ken Johnson.
Resolution to Approve Charter Applications:
Mr. Griffin reported that the Committee recommended that chartered status be granted to seven
new applicants: the Phi Delta Theta Alumni; the Rutgers Alumni – Shanghai; the Rutgers
Humanist Alumni; the Rutgers-Newark Black Organization of Students Alumni Associations
(BOSAA); the Rutgers Rowing; the Muslim Alumni Association; and the Rutgers Club of
Greater Toronto, and forwarded to the RUAA Board the recommended Resolutions. The
Resolutions were posted to Director’s Desk in advance of the meeting. Mr. Griffin presented the
Resolutions and asked for comments from the Board. After brief discussion, the Board agreed
that the Rutgers Rowing organization be titled Scarlet Knights Rowing, maintaining uniformity
with the University and eliminating any confusion over group titles. There was a motion to
approve the Resolutions (George Rears), duly seconded (Cara Bufanio), with an opportunity for
discussion. The Resolutions were adopted unanimously upon a voice vote of all voting members
present.
Resolution of Support for Eric LeGrand:
George Rears discussed the tragic spinal cord injury experienced by junior defensive tackle Eric
LeGrand during an October 16, 2010 football game. There has been an outpouring of support for
Mr. LeGrand and his family. Mr. Rears discussed that the RUAA resolves to send him a note,
wishing him the best, enhancing the overall support from the University, and especially
addressing the spirit of alumni and support from the RUAA. This support for Mr. LeGrand will
be in the form of a letter on a piece of parchment. Cara Bufanio interjected that this method of
communication seems standard and she would prefer to present him with something more
personalized. After brief discussion, the Board decided that it will proceed with the spirit of
alumni parchment; however, the Board will take pains to ensure that it expresses proper
sentiment and is presented in a manner appropriate to the circumstances. Further, the Board
agreed that the parchment may be circulated to Board members in advance of its presentation to
Eric LeGrand in order to ensure approval and satisfaction by all members. The Resolution was
unanimously adopted upon a motion (Christine Tiritilli) duly seconded (Maurice Griffin).
PROGRESS REPORT ON RUAA BOARD GOALS:
Mr. Rhodes directed the Board to their packets to review the Goals Status Report. After asking
for questions or comments from the Board, Mr. Rhodes added a brief note regarding trips to
alumni centers. The RUAA will visit Penn State alumni center; a trip to West Virginia alumni
center is also planned for December 3 and December 4, 2010, coinciding with a West Virginia v.
Rutgers game. As per request by Mike Williamson, Mr. Rhodes will inform Mr. Williamson of
the information regarding this trip as the details are established.

UPCOMING EVENTS:
Mr. Rhodes reviewed the upcoming events:
Monday, January 31, 2011 – RUAA Executive Committee meeting with Committee
Chairs, New Brunswick. Mr. Rhodes noted that this will be the first meeting of 2011.
Thursday, March 24, 2011 – RUAA Board meeting, Newark
Thursday, June 23, 2011 – RUAA Board meeting, Winants
OLD BUSINESS:
Donna Thornton noted the upcoming Hall of Distinguished Alumni event on May 7, 2011.
NEW BUSINESS:
Lisa English announced that committee chairs should see her for hard copies of the Operations
Plans.
Chuck Mannella introduced Abby Acelin, an intern in the Alumni Relations Office in Camden,
to the Board.
ADJOURNMENT:
Maurice Griffin motioned to adjourn the meeting, duly seconded by George Rears. The meeting
was adjourned at 8:46 p.m.
Respectfully Submitted:
Abby Acelin
Intern
Alumni Relations, Camden
Diana Byrd
Secretarial Assistant
Alumni Relations, Camden